Former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has won the Indian presidential election.

Mr Mukherjee, a veteran of the ruling Congress Party, was elected by members of the national and state parliaments.

The position is largely ceremonial but he could help determine who forms the next government after elections in 2014 if there is no clear winner.

Mr Mukherjee's term runs for five years. He replaces Pratibha Patil, who was India's first woman president.

PRANAB MUKHERJEE

The veteran Congress party leader Pranab Mukherjee was born in 1935 in West Bengal.

He was a teacher, a journalist and a lawyer before being elected in 1969 to the upper house of parliament. He has served as finance, foreign and defence minister, and has held other influential positions in the government.

He fell out with the Congress leaders in 1986 and started his own party, but returned to the party fold two years later. He has served on the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.